NetDocuments’ Rebecca Sattin On Customer-First Approach And Future-Proofing Your Firm

With law firms seeking to keep up with the ever-increasing pace of improvements to legal technology, it’s become more important than ever for tech transitions to be both smooth in the present and oriented toward future successful upgrades.

When NetDocuments acquired Worldox in October 2022, it was accompanied by a promise: a seamless transition that prioritizes clients current and future needs.

According to Rebecca Sattin, NetDocuments’ Sr. Director of Partner Success and former Worldox CIO, the acquisition was a good match as both companies had similar starts as family-owned companies and both have a customer-first attitude.

“We have maintained the Worldox support, development, and finance teams in order to provide continuity for customers.” Sattin pointed out that “when Worldox users call for help, they’re still talking to the same people. And, they’re now able to access even more resources than ever before to help them in their desired journey to the cloud.”

A Customer-First Focus

The combined companies have made good on their promise as NetDocuments has acknowledged their support for customers to move at their own pace. Many Worldox users had already been switching to the cloud, while others have a bit of time before they put it on their strategic roadmap.

For Sattin, this flexibility is a key part of creating a transition process that puts customers first. “Giving customers the power to make this decision when it’s right for them has really resonated with Worldox users.” She recalled one firm in the middle of a major overhaul of their billing system that was happy to hear they could work together with NetDocuments on the best path forward.

At the same time, with the Worldox and NetDocuments teams united as one company, they have been uniquely positioned to further streamline and improve the migration process, according to Sattin.

For Sattin herself, her passion has always been around customers – and working closely with them on their needs, goals and objectives. One thing she recalls enjoying was last year’s Inspire conference – NetDocuments’ annual user conference.

“It was very soon after the acquisition and I was welcomed by so many of the partners that work or have worked with NetDocuments and with Worldox,” she notes.

“I wasn’t exactly incognito, but I did get a chance to meet some existing NetDocuments customers and ask them questions about what their experience has been and how they liked the product so far. Overwhelmingly, everybody was just really thrilled with the platform.”

Now, in her new role as a Sr. Director on the Partner Success team, Sattin is able to continue her connection with partners while also speaking at conferences across the country and meeting with firms and their users face-to-face.

Future-Proofing Your Firm’s Tech With The Cloud

One of the key benefits for firms that make the transition from Worldox to NetDocuments is that doing so involves a transition from an on-premises system to one that is cloud-based. And, with over 900 firms having switched from Worldox to NetDocuments over the years, customers enjoy a seamless migration experience that’s minimally disruptive to the business.

In addition to a cloud-based platform coming with myriad benefits, one of the most important is a huge upgrade to the firm’s data security, Sattin says.

“Worldox has the ability to be configured securely, but as with any on-premises product, the sole responsibility for setting it up and maintaining it is on the customer or the partner they’re working with,” she adds.

“If a firm prioritizes convenience over security, it may leave them vulnerable — that’s why moving to NetDocuments, where every single document is encrypted, makes a big difference.”

Sattin also notes that, based on what she has learned at recent legal tech conferences, some cybersecurity insurers are reassessing the industry posture to issue cost-efficient policies to firms that don’t use a cloud-based platform due to the comparatively low security level offered by on-premises systems.

“I’m not speaking for every cyber insurance carrier, but of the people at [ILTA’s LegalSEC Summit], there were several who related this experience,” she says.

In addition to providing this improved security, transitioning to a cloud-based platform serves to help “future-proof” the firm — an essential strategy for any firm looking to actively make use of the latest and best legal technology despite the rapid pace of tech development.

“If you’re dealing with an on-premises system versus a cloud system, there’s this constant question of ‘How long do I have this equipment before I have to refresh it and buy new?” Sattin explains.

“By migrating to a cloud-first platform, you no longer have to worry about those back-office systems that need constant upgrading.”

In short, according to Sattin, to future-proof a firm is to make it easily adaptable to the latest tech, allowing the firm to continuously improve and produce the best work possible.

NetDocuments enables firms to achieve this goal, offering industry-leading capabilities from automation and collaboration features to seamless integrations — all underpinned by state-of-the-art security.

Previously out of reach or years away on the Worldox roadmap, firms switching to NetDocuments can access these critical features immediately while having the confidence of knowing that NetDocuments is hard at work anticipating their needs ahead of the curve – so they don’t have to.

She says, “We want to be that partner that [law firms] think of when they look towards the future of their technology stack.”

A Bright Future Ahead

According to Sattin, it has been an exciting year.

“The Worldox team has truly become a part of the NetDocuments family. We are one team working towards the best outcomes for all our customers worldwide – which is exciting,” she says.

“We continue to hear from customers who have made the transition to the NetDocuments cloud that they are happy with the switch and the expanded workflow capabilities. The ability to work from anywhere along with the sharing and collaboration features are enabling them to truly do their very best work.”